


The One After Vegas

by SweetPollyOliver



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-30 01:09:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10149668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetPollyOliver/pseuds/SweetPollyOliver
Summary: It's days before Jake and Nog's wedding and Nog needs to tell his commanding officer and prospective father-in-law something.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Round 8 of trek-rarepair-swwap for rebeccabunchs

When he had pictured his son's wedding—and what father hadn't from time to time given the matter an idle thought?—Ben had not considered that interstellar diplomacy would factor into things greatly. 

His nemesis, the aide from the office of the Grand Nagus ( _Rom_ ) would be back any minute with the latest objections to the most recent draft of his father of (one of) the groom(s) speech and, following that, someone from the new Kai's office would send him another delicately phrased missive detailing their own objections. 

Starfleet was playing ball for the most part in allowing him to officiate as both the Emissary and as a Starfleet captain, but there had been a certain amount of smugness from Headquarters about how sympathetic they were to the nuances involved and there was a barely unspoken subtext that things would be so much _easier_ if only the other two non-Federation cultures involved were as accommodating and accepting of diversity as them. 

Not that they were entirely unjustified. Part of him wished Jake and Nog would run away to Risa and get married on the beach and send him a holo-image afterwards. Not because he resented a second of the to-ing and fro-ing between third parties on his own behalf, but because he couldn't imagine that this was what the two of them wanted. 

They were just a couple of kids in love. 

A door chime which managed against the odds to sound tentative distracted his train of thoughts. 

It was probably Vedek Dren—Aide Pel had a tendency towards striding in mid-rant. 

"Come in," he said, eyes directed towards the path of his baseball as he tossed it upwards. "And honestly, if I cut the part about the Great Material Continuum, the Ferengi will take it very badly. I have to at least attempt to be ecumenical."

"It's me, sir." Ben's head turned to see Nog standing in the doorway. His future son-in-law looked more exhausted than he did. There were bags under his eyes, he was favouring his non-synthetic leg, and his uniform was in bad need of ironing if not outright recycling. 

"Oh hey, Nog," he replied. "Aren't you off-duty?"

"I am," he said. "I just… wanted to check things were okay on your end." 

"Oh, don't worry about it," Ben waved off the concern. "If I have to go over heads to get a final version of the speech down for the rehearsal then that's what'll happen."

"No, I mean-" Nog paused. "I mean- thank you. Obviously. For everything, but what I meant is… are you doing okay?"

He suppressed an urge to smile. 

"Yes, I'm fine, Nog," he said. "I'm a graduate of Starfleet academy: a little diplomacy never scared me."

"Well, no," Nog said. "But I'm pretty sure you slept in that uniform." 

"It wouldn't be the first time," he said with a sigh while he rubbed a hand over his gritty eyes. Nog dithered silently in front of him. "It's another week and then all this preparation will be over and you and Jake can start your life together. I'm happy to go a night or two without sleep if that's what it's going to take to help that along the way."

"But!" Nog started and then stopped himself and looked down. He looked up again, "Captain, I- we got married already."

For a long five seconds neither of them said anything. 

"Sorry?"

"We didn't plan it, it just sort of happened," Nog rushed on. "It was before you came back into linear existence—actually it was the anniversary of when you disappeared. I was going on an away mission that looked like it could be dangerous the next day and Jake suddenly just-"

"Oh so it was Jake's idea?" Ben said.

"I- well, he-. It's not even a legal wedding!" Nog said. "Not anywhere except in holosuite 2 anyway."

"You got married in Las Vegas?" 

"One of Vic's friends married us," Nog said, wretchedly. "He was a priest from one of the old-Earth religions. His name was-"

"Elvis?" Ben asked.

"You know him?" Nog replied.

"I've heard his gospel," Ben said drily. "Although, I preferred Sister Rosetta Tharpe's, personally." 

Nog looked miserably adrift.

"We didn't mean to. And it was- well, it was just sort of for us, because we didn't want to have a real wedding without you. And, I mean, honestly I think we were both sort of hoping that you'd just somehow… know and come back because it felt so _right_ then. But now-"

"Nog, do you think I'm angry?" Ben asked, realisation belatedly dawning. 

"You've been working so hard at this for us," Nog said wretchedly. "And, I mean, for us it's been all done bar the paperwork for eight months. If we'd known it would have gotten so… political, maybe we should have just left it at that."

"I'm not quite sure what to say," Ben said. "Except that I don't know what the two of you were thinking if you think that any amount of things getting political would curb my desire to see my son marry the love of his life. Even if it wasn't his first time doing it."

Neither of them said anything for a second. Nog stewed in almost audible guilt.

"Tell you what," Ben said. "Get me a holo-image of your wedding. Vic took one right?"

"Yeah," Nog started to attention. "Well… he took a photograph, but I can make a holo-image of it."

"Good," Ben said exhaustedly. "Bring it up when you're done. I want to have it here to keep me company through the next draft."

"Yessir," Nog turned towards the door. "We'll laugh about this some day, sir."

"I'll laugh about it the second you're out of the room," Ben said. 

"Mostly because you need to sleep."

"Don't push it, Lieutenant." 

The door closed behind a rapidly retreating Nog. Ben turned his baseball over in his hand and smiled.


End file.
